Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Yellow Crocus, Laila Ibrahim Flaming Chalice Press, 2011 240 pages


Alright, I'll admit that I didn't really like it from the beginning. Honestly I thought that I would walk away from the book and start reading Flame of Sevenwaters as soon as it finally arrived, but I didn't! I stuck it out and read it from start to finish today with a few hours dedicated to cleaning and voting in the middle somewhere. Anyway, it's really time to talk about the book and not the random things I did today.

Lisbeth Wainwright is a white woman born on a plantation in Virginia in 1837. At this time it's not proper for a well off woman to nurse her own child, so she is given to a wet nurse and taken out to show off once a week. Lisbeth is raised and loved by a woman named Mattie who was taken from her own 3 month old son to be the wet nurse for Lisbeth. The book is about how Lisbeth grows up with a strong connection to her wet nurse who is a slave of her family. As she grows she learns more about the way the slaves are treated and the different lives that they lead from her. After a time the two women are separated and Lisbeth is left to find out who she is and her own personal opinions on slavery or abolition.

As Lisbeth matures into adulthood she is throw more into the life of a plantation owner and is made more aware of the circumstances that the slaves are forced to endure because of their captivity. She learns compassion for every person, and that no matter what people shouldn't be forced into certain kinds of acts. She is a well developed character who becomes a woman and holds her own. It's not easy to defy your family at 19, and make yourself into your own woman. She marries a great man and becomes the person you hoped she would be the whole time.

It didn't take me long to get through the story, but it was pretty good. I feel like I'm prejudiced against shorter books because I feel like there isn't time to develop the characters. In this instance I appreciate that the author only focused on two main characters and during the more needed times one of the characters sort of disappeared. I appreciate being able to focus on one story line and not have to jump around between too many plot lines. I've noticed lately that quite a few of the books I've been reading have been doing just that: jumping between too many characters. That whole process just leaves things unformed and missing pieces. I give this book 4 stars on Goodreads. Have a Goodreads account? Be my friend!

Things I wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, Gary Chapman Northfield Publishing 2010 164 pgs

It's true that I am not married yet, but my boyfriend NickNack and I decided not too long ago that this is something that we are going to work towards, and something we are going to do. I won't say anything negative about my family or my parents' marriage to each other, except to say that they divorced when I was 16 and were apart from each other long before that. I know that I have no desire to put my son through anything that is as unfair as that. And because of that desire Nick and I are going through the marriage process with eyes wide open. I found Gary Chapman randomly on Amazon and read the 5 Love languages. It was an incredibly helpful and eye opening experience that I will blog about at a later date. Right now I want to discuss the book that I found because I read the 5 Love Languages.

There are 12 chapters in this book that detail 12 very different things that you may not know or think about until it becomes a problem. Gary Chapman is a counselor for married couples and has been for nearly 40 years. He has had his own marital problems and isn't afraid to use his real life pains and miss communications to show us how important it is that we know and decide these things before we walk into something. One of my favorite chapters in the book is about toilets not being self-cleaning. We grow up not realizing how much our parents do or do not do in our households. We also see that one parent may do the dishes and the other may vacuum the floors, but what we don't realize is that these values are not held across the margins for every family.

One of the major points that I feel like Gary Chapman is making, is that all families are different. As a couple we have to learn to be open and honest about the things we expect the other half to do, or find a compromise that works best between both parties to ensure that the little trivialities don't become all out war at some point in our marriages. Over all I am glad I read this book. NickNack has also read it with me, and it's opened up a few lines of communication that allow us to better understand each other and the ways we are going to continue growing and working together. For any of my married friends who are out there I suggest that you read this, even if you think your marriage is awesome and nothing could ever come between you two. It's really just a few simple things to make sure that you know effective communications skills, and that you are loving each other in the most effective love languages. Gotta keep those love tanks full!

Chasing Paris by Jen Carter

What would you do if you wake up one day to realize that the history of your family isn't what you thought it was? What would happen if you knew that your family hid the fact that your Grandma is really your great aunt and there is a whole knew mysterious woman and man that you just learned about? I can tell you that I would do exactly the same thing Amy Winthrow does. I'd do everything in my power to find out who she was and why she left.

There is a certain amount of disbelief that I really can't force myself to believe in this novel. An English Professor says that the planets must be in line because all the pieces of the romance are simply falling into place. I understand that you as a person who hasn't read the book yet won't understand the reference, but it's important that I state that I really don't believe that Will and Amy worked out in a fashion that I can suspend my disbelief in. I am a hopeless romantic, and you could see their future from the beginning, it's just not developed enough to be possible. 

There were also pieces that didn't really fit to me. It felt essentially like Amy's entire family was playing a mean trick on her almost the whole time as well. You find out in the end that it's not a trick and everything is real, but too many people have pieces to the puzzles that they shouldn't. It's hard to imagine that her sister April finds a relic from the family history and has absolutely no interest and doesn't tell her sister about it either. 

Chasing Paris was a quick read that I finished throughout the course of the day. Do a load of laundry, read a few chapters. Go grocery shopping, read a few chapters. Ya know? It was relatively easy for me to put the book down and walk away which is never a good sign when it comes to me attention for the book. I'm not going to say that the book was bad, it certainly has it's points of intrigue. Who is Lizzie Hathaway, and why did she abandon her family so abruptly? As I was reading I really wanted to know! It's just the surrounding story wasn't really something I cared about or believed. Reading the reviews on Amazon led me to think that it would be a different kind of writing than it was. Guess that goes to show you that you can't always believe what you read? Maybe you should pick it up and find out for yourself! Maybe.

Chasing Paris by Jen Carter, July 2012 269 pages

Amazon Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (Rated by 20 people)

Kindle vs. Actual Book

Alright, I've had this talk with quite a few people because I have recently become much more attached to my Kindle than I was before! What is better? Holding an actual book in my hands or using my Kindle which is a link to thousands of books at any given time?!? For convenience sake I say the Kindle wins and I'll tell you why.

The Kindle I now have thanks to my wonderful husband to be is the Kindle Paperwhite, and it's amazing. Before this I had the Kindle Touch which does most of the same things, but has no light and the homepages/library look quite a bit different. I'm in love with the eInk screens on both. But for the saving of your time and mine I will simply say that the Touch was awesome, but the Paperwhite is much better. The reason I began using my Kindle more is because of so many free titles offered by Amazon and also by other authors and websites. I have many bookmarked that allow me to download books to the correct formats at no cost. Yes, a lot of these books are out of date classics, but if you know me you know that is what I like to read. Recently if you follow my blog you'll notice that I have subscribed to a blog by Michael Gallagher that shows me different free books on a daily basis and this is where I have been finding most of the books I've been reading lately. Free makes everything more appealing. The light on the Paperwhite is really handy too. Book lights hurt my eyeballs and in general make me not a very happy camper. So I can read in poorly lit rooms without hurting my eyes, and the pages are still eInk so that it looks like I'm reading a real book. Amazing! What's not to like about tons of free books, excellent lighting, and I didn't mention the compact easy to hold size, but there is that as well. 

Now for real books the main benefit I feel is the feeling of accomplishment when I finish its and can close the pages and put it back on the shelf. It's easy to feel like I'm actually getting somewhere with a HUGE book if the dividing lines between the pages I've read and the ones I have yet to read are moving quickly. Books have a smell that is almost like home for me. I've always been a heavy reader and for those reasons books are a comfort to  me. When I'm feeling down or just need a little something to make it through a tough day I'll pick something of the old bookshelves and start reading. Many of the titles that I have in print I also have in Kindle format, but some books really are better as books. I've read Pride and Prejudice so many times that I've had to replace it once and the most recent copy is starting to deteriorate again. I still buy tons of books in paper format, because I HATE paying for anything that I have in Kindle format. Seems like if I'm going to be giving away my money I should have something that I can hold in my hand, something concrete. Plus, it's just fun wandering through the aisles at bookstores to find whatever will catch me this time. Nowadays I stick to used books for the fact that I spend way too much money if I even consider entering a Barnes and Noble, but it's always an adventure. Even more of an adventure due to the fact that you have no idea what you'll actually find at a used book store. 

All around I feel like the Kindle is just a much more convenient way to read books. I can finish one and easily move on to the next, and this has really been beneficial to my reading habits as of late. I currently am unemployed (not for long) and my son recently started going to school all day so I feel like I will have considerably more time at my disposal for reading and maintaining this blog. I also know that this is a short lived holiday and I will be returning to work and all the joys of time consuming activities that involves. I'll just have to enjoy this time while I have the chance, books here I come! There will probably be a new blog in a little while. I started a book called Chasing Paris this morning and it doesn't seem very long. My Kindle tells me that I only have 2 hours and 7 minutes of reading time left, I don't feel like that is very accurate due to the pace I read at. Oh well. Here's to enjoying a day with a little relaxation, a little grocery shopping, a bit of cleaning, and a lot of living. 

Little Deadly Things by Harry Steinman

"What happens when abusive parents raise brilliant children? You might get a saint. You might get a killer. Or you might get one of each."

Finding this book as another product of the blog that I follow for free Kindle books. It was an excellent find! I started it and pretty much couldn't put it down. It was a pretty crazy read, one that I couldn't predict much in. The Novel is set in the future where there are insane nanotechnologies that run nearly the entire world. The owner of NMech which specializes in these products is followed through her life path, along with her two best friends.

Eva Rozen is a very intense character who starts life in a very outrageous way. Control freak, lover, friend, psychopath.. all wrapped into one compact package. She is certainly a character that will stick with me for quite some time. 

Marta Cruz is a pained woman, but an incredibly compassionate soul. She learns that to respect and care about the ant is to respect and care about humanity. Marta is a healer. There is clash after clash between these two women who grew into maturity together. I really feel for this character who is so impassioned in her care of others that she is able to forget the extreme pain of her personal conditions, and continue on her path to save humanity. 

Jim Ecco is the man in the middle. The animal lover with a bad temper. From an abusive household. Loved his first dog so much that he never had another live with him after the pain of losing the first. A people reader, able to discover minute facts about people based on small things he notices. Think of Patrick Jane from the Mentalist and you've got a general idea of his talents. Just add in a really bad temper and a tendency to beat people up. 

All three characters came from really strenuous childhoods that shaped the way they became. Seems like it was focused on the reflections of upbringing that made children into the kinds of adults they became. Psychologically that is a pretty interesting idea, and very true. I hate giving spoilers about the books I'm reading so I'm going to try to finish up the review now so that I don't start blabbing about the crazy stuff that is in this book. 

I can say that I will probably go back and read this book again in the future, hopefully at a slower pace since I won't be devouring it like I did this first time. I know there are things I missed that will add  to the whole story line. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to read next. With all these free books I've been getting it's been more difficult to decide since I have so many options! Reading is probably the best stress reliever I know. Sort of feeling like reading all the books in the Sevenwaters series again, since the new one will be arrives next week. If I do this I won't be posting about them because it'll basically be me rehashing the post I wrote about Juliet since she is absolutely one of my favorite artists. Oh well, We will see. I'll probably also get back to the additional postings about things other than just books I've read. Thinking about doing one right after this so that I stop rambling on a review. Yeah. BYE!

How Huge the Night a Novel by Heather Munn and Lydia Munn

"Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon—the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust—How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices." Excerpt from Amazon

The story parallels the paths that two different children take. Nina is a Jew escaping from Austria with her little brother Gustav, and Julien is a protestant boy relocated from Paris to a quiet town in the south of France where his grandfather lives. The chapters rotate between the two until their paths finally meet. 

Julien is stuck from the very beginning with the choice to follow the crowds or to follow his conscience. It's a battle with himself and a battle with his faith to find the path that he must follow to become his happiest self. And Nina herself grapples with the idea of a God who would send her through such trials and abuse. 

Julien goes through the coming of age journey in what I would imagine is a pretty normal way. He is moved away from everything that he knows and then forced into a new school where he doesn't know anyone and is viewed as an outsider by all the other kids. It's anger at his parents, then anger at everyone else, then anger at himself. It's a pretty religiously weighted book because every day he prays. Every day he gets a little closer to learning the right things to pray for. He learns that one small decision can change the way everything else is run. He sets his town on a path to great acts of faith and kindness.

Nina on the other hand is on the run and dressed like a boy. She quickly loses her faith in humanity and fears all men. It's a long and painful journey from Austria to France. They meet enemies and friends alike on the way. Gustav grows and becomes a man because he has to learn to care for and protect his crippled "brother Niko". And Nina has to find the will to survive from somewhere deep inside. Their story isn't very well followed or laid out in great detail. 

The book was certainly meant to focus mostly on the townspeople and their acts of bravery or bigotry either way. Set during the German take over of France it shows that people aren't always afraid to do what is right even when it is outlawed. I've never really read much about France being defeated by the Germans, so it was an interesting concept to me. I can understand why Hitler set up a dividing line and had an unoccupied area of France, since this area wasn't a direct link to any other major countries (specifically England). I feel though that in the book the story of Nina and Gustav should have had equal weight, the depth of their story was definitely something I was missing every time I'd pass over one of their chapters. I can see how maybe the writers were trying to make their flight seem more furtive by making it all so short and terse, but I didn't really enjoy that. 

The fact that this is a teen novel didn't really discourage me from reading it at all. It was well written and easy to follow. I found this book for free for my Kindle via a blog by Michael Gallagher called "Free Kindle Books and Tips" It's pretty awesome. If you have a Kindle I'd suggest the purchase. It's only 99c a month and I've already downloaded at minimum 20 books for free that I wouldn't have found on my own before they went back to full price. It's nice. 

City of Women by David E. Gillham

"Whom do you trust, whom do you love, and who can be saved?  

It is 1943—the height of the Second World War—and Berlin has essentially become a city of women. 
Sigrid Schröder is, for all intents and purposes, the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime. But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman who dreams of her former lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. Her lover is a Jew." - excerpt from Amazon

I'm going to guess that I bought this book because it was the Kindle Daily deal, I don't actually remember. I can however promise you that I didn't pay 12.99 to have it on my Kindle. But whatever. The only real point of mentioning that is that I wanted to try and figure out how I even came across this book in the first place. Anyway, now on to the point of the whole post.

I really enjoyed this book! It had it's moments where it was really crude and you could remember that it was a man writing from a woman's perspective, but for the most part it went pretty smooth. I'll admit that I usually get a little nervous reading a book that a man wrote from a woman's perspective. 

Sigrid is a weak woman who gets sucked into something way bigger than her. She finds out who she is and what she is capable of along this treacherous path. She saves Jews from the Germans.  I'm not sure what it is about WWII right now that is holding my interest, but I'll be posting in a little bit about a book I just finished which is also about WWII. Something about this book really triggered it for me. In Berlin when all the capable men are away fighting a war it's up to the women left behind to pull everything together. They hold jobs and feed their families, and some are also brave enough to help others along the way as well.

It's easy to tell when some people are your enemies, and yet Sigrid has to fight through the trenches so to speak to see who is the real enemy. Her closest friends may turn her in, the nosey neighbors may start to read into her sudden like of the cinema. Lives hang in the balance. Not just hers, but everyone she loves.

This was a good read. Not incredibly memorable honestly. I read this over a week ago and some of the pieces are already missing in my memory. I'll blame that on the fact that it's a pleasure read and not something I read for historical relevance. But good none the less.